plant accident, the National Christian Council in Japan’s Project on the Issues of the Chernobyl Disaster has been organizing study tours, and with the cooperation of the NCCJ Peace and Nuclear Issues Committee, a seven-day Chernobyl Study Tour took place last September. One of the participants, a pastor of a church less than 25 kilometers from the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, sent the following opinion about facing the problems of radiation.

A Recuperation Program for Children

by Park Jeong Yeon, former pastor

Haramachi Church, Tohoku District

Haramachi Church is in the town of Minami Soma in Fukushima Prefecture, about 25 kilometers from the Fukushima No.1 nuclear reactor. I was assigned there after the Great East Japan Disaster, so for three years I interacted with the local people and attended lectures about radiation. The persons suffering from radiation, are insisting that the issues must not be allowed to dwindle away. However I could not help thinking that they themselves use the term “fuhyo higai”(financial damage caused by harmful rumors or misinformation) unconsciously to make the serious realities of the pollution fade into the background.

At this point, as a result of hearing a lecture given in Sendai by Dr. Yamazaki Tomoyuki, a member of the Airin Church in Osaka who has been working through the NCCJ to support people suffering as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, I decided to take part in the Chernobyl Study Tour.

I was most interested to see for myself how people are living and dealing with the pollution that still continues 27 years after the accident. I hoped to receive hints for dealing with a situation in which, as time passes, rifts develop due to differences of opinion and priority is given to the continued existence of towns and economic factors. Through my visit, however, I discovered that Belarus is also producing vague information about the reality of the pollution and falsifying data about radiation damage in the interest of the economy, so there is little difference from Japan. It seems the president of the country announced in 2009 that there was no connection between any illnesses and the Chernobyl disaster, as he figured the issue of compensation would lead to financial difficulties. On the other hand, help accepted from overseas for the purpose of building sanatoriums for children were used instead to build research facilities for specially chosen elite students. We only hope that the Japanese government does not follow the same path as the Belarus government, in refusing to give human life priority over everything else, but rather takes this as a negative example from which to gain the wisdom and strength to open up the way to true recovery.

Actually, doctors in Belarus have raised objections to the announcement that no harm to health has been caused by radiation. In Japan, the criteria for examining the thyroid deems it sufficient to check lumps of less than 5 mm and cysts of less than 20 mm again after two years. I asked about the situation in Belarus and discovered that any lump of even 2-3 mm is checked again after 3 months. This is quite different from the situation in Fukushima where, except at the Fukushima Prefectural University of Medicine, it is difficult even to get a thyroid examination.

It was extremely valuable to learn about the various programs and measures being put into effect by facilities in Belarus. Here in Fukushima we first must endeavor to provide programs through which children subjected to radiation due to the convenience and judgment of adults can recuperate elsewhere for at least three weeks. This will not be realized while the continued existence and economy of towns and villages is given priority over concerns about future health problems and the primary consideration is the fear that people will move away if their anxiety and sense of danger increase.

Various organizations offer respite programs, but the majority are for overnight or two to three nights at most. The recuperation programs for children subjected to radiation in Chernobyl have shown that to stimulate the metabolism and eliminate the effects of internal irradiation, a minimum recuperation period of three weeks is necessary. I find it extremely hard to accept that the children of Fukushima are being offered an outing to relax, in the name of “recuperation,” as if all they need is a chance to feel refreshed.

It is my prayer that although they have been forced to suffer and live together within a polluted natural environment, the children of this place will become adults who love people and nature. (Tr. SN)